Keoladeo National Park, or Keoladeo Ghana National Park, is a national park in Rajasthan, India. The national park hosts thousands of native, resident and migratory birds, especially during the winter season, when many different species fly to the Indian subcontinent to escape harsh winters further north in Eurasia. At least 400 avian species have been noted or observed in the national park.
The area was developed into a duck shooting reserve in 1899 by the administrator of the Bharatpur State. Through the efforts of ornithologist Salim Ali, it became the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in 1956, was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971 and established as the Keoladeo National Park on 10 March 1982. Due to its exceptional avian biodiversity, it has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1985).
Keoladeo Ghana National Park also features a human-made regulated wetland, providing a needed source of hydration for animals in this drier region of the subcontinent. The reserve also protects Bharatpur settlements from flash floods and provides ample pastures for the locals' cattle and livestock. In the past, the region was primarily used as a waterfowl hunting ground. The reserve is locally known as Ghana, a natural mosaic of dry grasslands, woodlands, swamps and seasonal wetlands located just on the eastern edge of terrain that eventually becomes arid desert.
Given its rather centralised location, where the "desert-meets-the-tropics", Keoladeo Ghana is bursting with biodiversity. Beyond the hundreds of bird species, at least 20 fish, 70 reptile and amphibian, and 50 mammalian species inhabit the area, and over 60 unique species of Lepidopterans have been seen here, in addition to the more than 1,000 invertebrate species. Nearly 400 plant species have been documented in the park.
History
The national park was established on 10 March 1982. Previously the private duck shooting preserve of the Maharaja of Bharatpur since the 1850s, the area was designated as a bird sanctuary on 13 March 1976 and a Ramsar site under the Ramsar Convention in October 1981.
Keoladeo National Park was made a World Heritage Site in 1985, under criterion iv. The justification provided was that the park is a "...wetland of international importance for migratory waterfowl. It is the wintering ground for the rare Siberian crane and habitat for large numbers of resident nesting birds". When the criteria were updated in 2005, the park fell under Criteria (x) which states that to be conferred the status of World Heritage, the site should "contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-site conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation".
Climate
During 1988, the mean maximum temperature ranged from in January to in May, while the mean temperature varied from in December to in June. The diurnal temperature variation ranged from in January to in May. Mean relatively humidity varied from 62% in March to 83.3% in December. The mean annual precipitation is , with rain falling on an average of 36 days per year. In 1988, only of rain fell during 32 days.
In 2007 and 2008, several active attempts were made to eradicate the non-native mesquite Prosopis juliflora and some invasive members of the asteraceous genus Cineraria.
Fauna
thumb|Common parakeet in Keoladeo National Park
thumb|[[Great egret in Keoladeo Ghana National Park]]
thumb|[[Knob-billed duck alongside Eurasian coot]]
thumb|Group of painted storks in one of the wetland habitation in Keoladeo National Park
Macro invertebrates such as worms, insects, and mollusks, though more abundant in variety and numbers than any other group of organisms, are present mostly in aquatic habitats. They are food for many fish and birds, as well as some animal species, and hence, constitute a major link in the food chain and functioning of the ecosystem. Land insects are in abundance and have a positive effect on the breeding of land birds.
Birds
thumb|Darter at sunset
thumb|Sarus crane
thumb|[[Oriental magpie-robin in Keoladeo National Park]]
Keoladeo National Park is an important wintering ground for large numbers of migrant birds; the most common waterfowl are gadwall, shoveler, common teal, cotton teal, tufted duck, knob-billed duck, bar-headed goose, little cormorant, great cormorant, Indian shag, ruff, painted stork, white spoonbill, Asian open-billed stork, oriental ibis, darter, common sandpiper, wood sandpiper, green sandpiper, greater flamingos, spot-billed pelican, great white pelican, demoiselle crane and sarus crane. Others birds present include warblers, Old World babblers, bee-eaters, bulbuls, buntings, chats, painted francolins and quails, Indian grey hornbill and Marshall's iora. Raptors include osprey, peregrine falcon, Pallas' sea eagle, short-toed eagle, tawny eagle, imperial eagle, spotted eagle and crested serpent eagle. The greater spotted eagle is breeding here. The absence of grazing is causing management problems as vegetation, principally Paspalum distichum, a perennial amphibious grass, blocks up the channels. The Rajasthan government has rejected a proposal from the Bombay Natural History Society to allow limited grazing, since this would conflict with the law. Furthermore, recycled nutrients from the large quantity of dung deposited by livestock probably supported considerable numbers of insects.
Crisis of 2007
A severe drought caused severe harm to the park and its flora and fauna in 2007.
A proposal for water supply to Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur was forwarded by the Government of Rajasthan seeking assistance from Planning Commission as advised and approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) vide their letter dated 10.04.2008. As per the MoEF, the proposal is beyond the purview of the existing centrally sponsored scheme of the MoEF, seems to be viable and has the potential to put an end to the eternal water scarcity in Bharatpur National Park.
The Keoladeo National Park is a Ramsar Wetland Site and a World Heritage Site. Due to acute water scarcity, the ecosystem of the Park has been affected badly and this has resulted in reduction in the arrival of migratory birds in the National Park. Water supply is essential for the National Park, which is a wetland and a Ramsar site facing acute shortage of water for the last few years. Currently, apart from rainfall the Park receives water from "Ajan Bund", a temporary reservoir via the Dakan canal. Through a small canal dug last year water from Khokhar Weir (Bees Mora) is also available. The total requirement of water for the Park is estimated at 14.17 million cubic meters (500 MCft). The supply from Ajan Bund is irregular and subject to the bund being full to the extent of reservoir level at 8.5 meters. During the last several years either water is not supplied or supplied insufficiently.